17th March, 2020
US President Donald Trump has found himself being dragged on Twitter after calling the raging coronavirus the Chinese virus.
Trump had in a broadcast last week called the virus a foreign virus and merely stepped up his characterisation with the new label.
“The United States will be powerfully supporting those industries, like Airlines and others, that are particularly affected by the Chinese Virus. We will be stronger than ever before!”, Trump tweeted late on Monday.
The tweet enraged not just Chinese Twitterati, but fellow Americans. However, Trump also had supporters, who praised him for calling the virus what it is.
Here are some of the reactions:
Chinese netizens express rage on social media over U.S. president @realDonaldTrump's "Chinese virus" tweet.
"How can he blatantly use such words of racism?" commented a netizen. pic.twitter.com/LO3th7E52G
— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) March 17, 2020
The Chinese virus! Using terms like that is just going to fuel racist attacks. pic.twitter.com/bbzwNcXeFb
— Dr Mark D'Arcy (@markoftheD) March 17, 2020
Coronavirus originated in China.
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They suppressed information which made things worse.
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They tried to spin the tale and blame the origin of virus on the US.
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US president called it a Chinese virus.
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Now people are labelling US president as racist.— An Open Letter (@AnOpenLetter001) March 17, 2020
That is what it is: Chinese Virus. #Covid19 https://t.co/4vM2JdurU6
— Kanchan Gupta (@KanchanGupta) March 17, 2020
Calling it a “Chinese Virus” makes me incredibly sad. I’m a proud American (happen to be born in China), who is an American thru & thru. This global 🌎 virus knows no race, no creed, or ethnic origin. Let’s conquer #COVID19 together, not apart.🙏 https://t.co/Pzpvy3PAiD
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) March 17, 2020
It’s not the CHINESE VIRUS you racist sack of dogshit; it’s THE TRUMP VIRUS. You were warned about this in 2017. What did you do? Disband the pandemic office in 2018; slash budgets for the CDC, NIH & HHS; turn down COVID-19 tests offered to us IN FEBRUARY.pic.twitter.com/DUR1Jl7CpU
— Andrew Wortman (@AmoneyResists) March 17, 2020
The World Health Organisation on 11 February renamed coronavirus COVID-19.
WHO announced the new name on its tweeter handle at @WHO that “we now have a name for 2019nCov disease.
“The new name is COVID-19.The CO stands for corona, the VI for virus and the D for disease.”
The UN health agency said it coined a name that does not refer to a geographical location, animals, an individual or a group of people.